Our Mission

The Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG) is a non-profit public art gallery dedicated to the research, exhibition, education and documentation of contemporary visual art as it is practiced locally through to internationally. It aspires to generate significant audiences for its innovative and diverse programmes through free access and a profile that is international in scope.

CAG is the longest standing independent public art gallery dedicated to presenting contemporary visual art in Vancouver. We deliver between ten and twenty exciting exhibitions and off-site projects each year, provide an extensive range of learning and public programs for adults, families and children, offer a series of residencies for Canadian and international artists directly contributing to the local scene, and publish insightful catalogues that create a lasting legacy of exhibited work. We do this while offering all of our programs free of charge through an admission by donation policy. We believe that access to, enjoyment of and engagement with contemporary art and the surrounding debates should be available and open to all.

About Contemporary Art Gallery

Established in 1971 as the Greater Vancouver Artist’s Gallery, through federal employment programs for artists, the Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG) was incorporated as a non-profit charitable society in 1976. From 1971 to 1978, artists were hired for six month periods to produce art for exhibition which was then accessioned into the City of Vancouver Art Collection. In 1984 the CAG became an artist-run centre, widely recognized for providing initial solo exhibitions for many of Vancouver’s now well-known artists, in 1996 becoming an independent public art gallery, now recognized as key to the cultural provision of Vancouver and as a major advocate for the artistic brand of the city nationally and internationally. In May 2001, the CAG moved to a new purpose-built facility under the aegis of the City of Vancouver’s Amenity Bonus program in cooperation with Bosa Ventures Inc.